When pride still matters

Chapter 250 Malice in the Palace

As last year's Eastern Conference runner-up, the Pistons have not been in good shape since the start of the season.

Larry Brown seemed to be still immersed in the nightmare in Athens, Billups and Hamilton's shots were not accurate, and the Wallace brothers did not have enough influence on the game.

They need an outlet to explode.

The Bucks are exactly such an opponent.

From the moment the Bucks stepped into the Palace of Auburn Hills, they sensed the malice in the palace.

During the warm-up, Yu Fei saw a Pistons fan unfurling a poster that vilified him. It read, "The NBA does not need those who interfere with the country."

Seeing this, Yu Fei just thought that apart from not playing for the American team, his fans could not find any other black spots.

From Yu Fei's point of view, the lethality of this poster is not as harmful as some disgusting black fans writing about him and Paris Hilton's royal uncle on the Internet, which made him uncomfortable.

However, other Bucks players received more intense ridicule and attacks.

When Sprewell shot, a bunch of Pistons fans shouted: "An old thing that no one wants, not worth renewing!"

And when Ray Allen got the ball, they had a new trick: "Exquisite boy, Frye wants to trade you!"

The Bucks could sense their opponents were in a bad mood.

Not only the fans at the scene, but also the Pistons players came to the game with deep hatred.

Hamilton didn't dare to provoke Yu Fei, but he had the courage to bully Ray Allen.

At the end of the first quarter, when Ray Allen broke through with the ball, he was elbowed hard by Hamilton in the stomach.

This made him furious and he complained loudly to the referee, but was ignored.

"This is our territory, what did you expect?" Hamilton mocked.

Ray Allen didn't take action, Sprewell did.

Sprewell pushed Hamilton away hard, and players from both sides gathered together, almost leading to a brawl.

Ironically, the people who used to be the most likely to cause trouble on the court are now the ones most active in breaking up fights.

On the Pistons side, Rasheed Wallace hugged Hamilton.

Yu Fei grabbed Sprewell.

The Pistons wanted to boil the frog in warm water. After all, the game was still long and they could take their time. The reason why Yu Fei didn't let Sprewell use force was because the opponent had not renewed his contract.

Before renewing the contract, Sprewell cannot cause any scandal, otherwise it will give the management team an opportunity to lower the price.

However, although Yu Fei persuaded Sprewell, he could feel that the competition was becoming more and more intense.

At that time, the score was still very tight, so Yu Fei decided to quickly establish an advantage.

If the Pistons fall behind by a big score, they probably won't have the temper to cause trouble.

Yu Fei is the kind of person who thinks about it and does it. From the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the second quarter, he held the ball at the top of the arc many times, relying on his personal ability to break through the iron barrel formation, or make high jumpers, or break through the ball to assist his teammates in three shots. Score points, or challenge Ben Wallace alone, rush to the basket and succeed in a dunk.

Yu Fei's dazzling performance reminded Detroiters of the fear of being dominated in last year's Eastern Conference Finals.

That’s it!

This is how Yu Fei played in last year's Eastern Conference Finals.

This made the crowd in the Palace even more violent. They insulted the Bucks players and encouraged the Pistons players with profanity.

An unhealthy atmosphere can affect others.

Sprewell was the one affected.

Pistons fans have a lot of hatred for him. Last year in the Eastern Conference Finals, he guarded Hamilton half to death, and he always rushed to the front when there was a conflict.

Now, they had a legitimate reason to attack Sprewell.

The Bucks' refusal to give Sprewell a big contract has become well known across the country.

Therefore, whenever Sprewell gets the ball, the boos on the scene will get louder, and the fans in the front row will make all kinds of taunts around the Bucks not renewing Sprewell's contract.

As Sprewell struck, he heard, "This is why you're not worth 1000 million!"

When Sprewell makes a mistake, he will hear in his ears, "There is no way the Bucks can renew the contract with an old waste like you!"

Then, when he missed an open shot created by Yu Fei on a breakaway, the fans' sarcasm drove him crazy.

"Fry Yu doesn't need a waste like you!"

Sprewell's sanity was almost burned out by his anger. He turned around and cursed the fans, and was immediately called for a technical foul.

“!!￥￥”

"Look at me!" Yu Fei grabbed Sprewell's shoulder and shook it hard, "Don't be affected by them! Do your own thing!"

What made Sprewell confused was not the choreography or insults from away fans, but what they said pointed to the truth.

Even Sprewell himself admits that his decline has been considerable. Last season, he averaged 15 points per game, but this season, he currently averages only 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Both basic data and shooting percentage are showing a downward trend.

This undoubtedly gives the Bucks' management more confidence to lower the price.

At the same time, the public's attitude towards Sprewell, who would rather go home and sleep than earn an annual salary of tens of millions, has changed from understanding and support to questioning and ridicule.

This is very real public opinion.

Just like before Klay Thompson was seriously injured in the 2019 finals, didn't Warriors fans want to kneel down and sing praises for his amazing performance like the boss? But when his performance declines seriously in 2023, the love of the past will also disappear.

Yu Fei temporarily stabilized Sprewell.

Later, he also became a little angry. The Pistons' various actions were obviously to find a fight with them, rather than to play well.

This made Yu Fei determined to beat the Pistons to pieces in the away game.

In the second half of the second quarter, Yu Fei took many outside shots and his shooting rate reached an average level. However, the Pistons used too much effort in confrontation and were unable to find the basket in the positional battle.

There were shouts and curses from both sides, and there were pushes and shoves in every round, but the referees ignored those excessive actions, as if they also wanted to see how long these players could endure before fighting.

At halftime, 54 to 39, the Bucks led the Pistons by 15 points on the road.

With the Pistons' offensive capabilities, the 15-point gap is an endless distance for them.

Karl felt something was wrong with the atmosphere at the scene. In the locker room, he advocated controlling the rhythm in the second half, "You see, Detroit is a pile of mud now. We can't let them succeed. Go out and play, kill them, and then leave. Don't Fight! Don’t fight!”

Although Karl kept saying not to fight, the man he replaced did not think so.

Karl named the demonic Robert Horry and Mason's successor Udonis Haslem as starters in the second half.

Haslem isn't as rough as Mason, but if the Pistons want to do something to him, he won't sit back and be bullied.

Horry is even more typical of "If you don't offend me, I will offend you." The reason why he is not as infamous as Bruce Bowen is entirely because his performance at critical moments in the playoffs is so dazzling that people forget that he is actually What a bastard.

From the beginning of the second half, almost every small move the Pistons made was responded to.

But not everyone responded.

For example, Ray Allen is a person who plays quietly and doesn't cause trouble.

This is a dog that blends into a pack of wolves. Once the other party finds that you are weak and can be bullied, they will concentrate their firepower on you.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Yu Fei shook Prince, jumped to the basket, jumped up bravely, knocked down Big Ben in the air and scored a dunk.

When he landed, Yu Fei ignored the boos from the audience and stepped over Da Ben.

This aroused the anger of the entire Pistons team. Big Ben lay on the ground and punched the air angrily. Although the punch hit the air, the conflict between the two sides had already begun to explode.

"100 to 77." Yu Fei reported the current score sarcastically, "If you were half as strong as your temper, you would still be able to win this game."

On the other side, Karl is ready to replace Yu Fei.

But he was still a step too late.

15 seconds later, Yu Fei blocked Billups' layup with a nail breaker. The Pistons retreated quickly, and Yu Fei passed the ball from the backcourt to Sprewell in the frontcourt.

Sprewell attracted the defense and then distributed the ball to Ray Allen.

However, Ray Allen, who was about to dunk, was knocked to the ground hard before taking off.

Seeing that it was Ben, Sprewell became angry when he thought of everything that had happened since the beginning, so he stepped forward and grabbed the opponent's collar and started scolding him. This was the last time the Bucks tried to use "gentle means" to calm the conflict. Big Ben was different tonight. Not only was he disgusted with the Bucks, but he was also filled with grief over the death of his brother. He just wanted to find someone to fight. Since Sprewell came to the door, he would do it directly. .

Ben punched Sprewell in the head, causing the situation to get out of control.

Hamilton ran from behind Sprewell with unknown intentions. Horry saw this and knocked the opponent away with all his strength, causing him to hit the billboard on the sidelines.

Yu Fei rushed to the frontcourt to pull him away, but he was pushed by a hand from nowhere, which made him angry and involved in the brawl in the frontcourt.

"This is World War III!"

"Everyone is fighting! The coaches on both sides want to play peacemaker, but their strength is too weak!"

Mike Breen's recognizable voice rang out fiercely.

No one wants to see this, but if it happens, everyone watching except the person involved will enjoy it.

The brawl lasted for more than half a minute until the substitutes entered the court and the fighting players were separated.

The two sides were divided into two sides. Carr and Brown accused each other of not being able to restrain the players. The friendship between brothers is now worthless.

Ben and Sprewell both had bruises and swollen faces. Hamilton felt uncomfortable after being knocked over and was carried away on a stretcher. Yu Fei first helped Sprewell beat Ben and then had sex with Prince. stand up.

The fight seemed to have died down as the referees discussed penalties, while Sprewell sat on the sidelines, his mind blank, not knowing what was about to happen to him.

A few seconds later, fans in the back row spotted Sprewell and accurately threw a Coke at his head.

With a crack, the cup of Coke exploded on Sprewell's head, and the carbonated drink that poured out immediately chilled the madman's body. An indescribable desire for revenge surged from his heart, like a wild beast that had lost its restraints. No matter who is the perpetrator, he seems to have returned to his youth, the madman who couldn't stand any humiliation and would explode desperately once he was bullied too much.

Sprewell choked a fan, and the ill will inside the Palace of Auburn Hills erupted like a volcano and could no longer be controlled.

(End of this chapter)